FEATURE:
Every Second Counts
IN THIS PHOTO: The cover for Billie Eilish’s forthcoming album, Hit Me Hard and Soft (out on 17th May)
Will the Album Make a Full Comeback?
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I want to use an entire…
IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift/PHOTO CREDIT: Beth Garrabrant
BBC article as a focus for an interesting conversation. They looked at artists like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift and recent albums. In fact, Billie Eilish does not release Hit Me Hard and Soft until 17th May. Even though artists like Eilish have a couple of albums under their belt, it is not the case that they will put out a string of singles prior the release date. I think we have gotten so use to artists releasing three, four or five singles over the course of an album’s release and marketing campaign. I guess we have artists like Dua Lipa who are still going down the singles route. Regardless, Taylor Swift put out very little before The Tortured Poets Department recently. Billie Eilish is going to release her album without putting out singles. Swift and Eilish releasing an album without any singles coming out. It means that fans experience the album as it arrives without any preconceptions or guidance in terms of sound. I think singles can often be red herrings. Too many singles can be overwhelming and a bit full-on! It seems exhausting when you get so very much released from an album. I do know that mainly massive artists can afford releasing an album without singles coming. They will get huge sales and acclaim if an album comes out with no singles. The BBC look at a run of recent albums and how they have been promoted in regards single releases:
“Beyoncé released two in one go, Dua Lipa let her fans have three. Taylor Swift? She kept everything under wraps.
The Tortured Poets Department dropped last week with no singles released in advance and, next month, Billie Eilish says she'll be doing the same.
For years, commentators have been warning that the album is dead and the single reigns supreme.
That's partly down to streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music which let fans pick and choose their favourite tracks from artists and curate personalised playlists.
But could two of the world's biggest stars opting to ditch singles breathe life back into albums?
Announcing Hit Me Hard and Soft, Billie said she wanted her fans to hear the album in one go.
And in an interview with Rolling Stone, she explained why.
"Every single time an artist I love puts out a single without the context of the album, I'm just already prone to hating on it," she said.
"I really don't like when things are out of context. This album is like a family: I don't want one little kid to be in the middle of the room alone."
Even though he's responsible for the weekly Official Singles Chart, Martin Talbot, the chief executive of the Official Charts Company, admits he's more of an album fan himself.
"It's fantastic that Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift are doing what appears to be something designed to push music fans back to the concept of an album," he tells BBC Newsbeat.
"There is a danger that music fans lose sight of what an album is and what an album represents.
"The album represents the kind of apex of the creative vision of a particular artist.
"And it's really important for the creative health of music and the cultural environment we preserve that."
PHOTO CREDIT: Stas Knop/Pexels
Fans take control
In the 70-year history of the charts, Martin says collating the top 40 singles has changed dramatically.
It started with calling around a few record stores each week to ask which singles - specially selected and released by musicians - were their bestsellers.
Now, thanks to streaming platforms, anything can be a single - and anything can enter the chart.
"The great thing about the digital environment is that it puts the control in the hands of the consumer, in the hands of music fans," Martin tells Newsbeat.
"Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, they may just be releasing albums, but each of those tracks that make up those albums is available to stream in isolation," he says.
"And if those tracks get enough streams, they will go into the singles chart, regardless of whether the artist deems them to be singles or not."
That decision could be a thing of the past for artists as big as Taylor and Billie, although Taylor did release a music video for one song - Fortnight - on the day her album dropped.
That went straight to number one, but other tracks that weren't officially promoted, including Down Bad and the eponymous The Tortured Poets Department, also debuted in the top five.
But for up and coming talents like Beth McCarthy singles are as important as ever.
Beth McCarthy performing on stage. Beth is a 26-year-old white woman with blonde hair dyed pink. She wears a grey denim crop top with a pink tartan tie around her neck. She holds a microphone to her face with her right hand, revealing a black line tattoo on her inner upper arm. Beth's eyes are closed as she sings, holding the microphone stand with her left hand. The staging behind her is lit purple
Singer Beth McCarthy says singles are still important for artists establishing their sound
"Singles are a massive part of what starts your career," the singer tells Newsbeat.
"It creates a way to release music without the pressure of making a whole body of work and figuring out an entire sound.
"It lets people get to know you but in short, little bits rather than having to do the whole big thing."
Beth, from London, will be performing at Radio 1's Big Weekend in May on the Introducing stage, and hopes to release her first album soon.
"I've been doing singles and EPs because they're a shorter way to create something that isn't going full pelt into an album," she says.
"And for me, making an album, I want it to be done properly and done in a way that really works together and feels like art."
Album art for Beyoncé's album, Cowboy Carter. Beyoncé is a 42-year-old black woman. She's styled in a red, white and blue patent cowboy-themed outfit including a cowboy hat, chaps and a buttoned up shirt. She's pictured sitting side-saddle on a white horse, her long silver hair flowing behind her. In her right hand, she holds the horse's reigns and in her left she holds aloft the American flag.
Beyoncé dropped two singles from Cowboy Carter in one go
Aside from refining an artist's sound, another good thing about releasing singles is how they can get fans excited for a new album.
"The single is still one of the most powerful promotional tools for an album," says Martin.
He gives Texas Hold 'Em as an example, one of two singles Beyoncé released from Cowboy Carter which he says "fed directly into the success of her album" - which debuted at number one.
But Martin says for most artists, singles have an important role to play in keeping album sales high.
"Part of the job of releasing singles is to keep the album in the public eye and to continue to ensure that people are reminded it exists," he says.
Vanishing from the limelight might not be a worry for Taylor, who within five days of releasing The Tortured Poets Department broke Spotify records with more than a billion streams.
She also broke UK chart records, with the album reaching number one and outselling the rest of the top 10 combined.
Could it be the start of a comeback for the album?
Billie's brother and collaborator Finneas suggested a return to listening to albums in full was due a comeback.
"We're not even at 'song' anymore," he told the magazine, saying music was increasingly being consumed in trending soundbites on TikTok.
But "everything's a counter-movement to the movement," he added.
"I think that's going to lead back to immersing yourself in an album. I really do”.
I don’t think that we will see a day where every major artists releases an album with no/one single beforehand. It can be quite risky and backfire! What is pleasing is that we have artists such as Billie Eilish keen to let fans experience an album. Not going down the route of singles coming out and there being this endless promotion and cycle. Even Beyoncé, with COWBOY CARTER, took an unusual path with her album. Not quite the same way of doing things. I feel there is a demand, against the brevity and ephemeral nature of platforms like TikTok, for albums and something fuller. Beth McCarthy is right when she says that artists need to release albums to establish their sound. New artists especially need to get singles out so that albums can get some traction and context. It is a complex debate and conversation. It is clear that the rise in vinyl sales and the fact physical music is doing so well is seeing artists react. Maybe they do not want to give too much away. An album is a very special and personal thing. Artists want fans to feel and absorb it as a single thing. If you take it apart and release singles, often people can listen to those singles and maybe skip album tracks. If you only have the album, then you are hearing it fresh and have no bias/favourite songs going in. I do hope that the desire for full albums and some big artists not releasing singles leads to others following suit. I don’t think that any new or rising artists should risk not releasing singles if they can’t afford to.
PHOTO CREDIT: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels
Vinyl sales are booming and we are also seeing cassettes and CDs taking off – though not hugely. I hope that manufacturers will put out devices so that people can listen to cassettes and CDs. That opportunity to listen to albums on the go. There is still a place for TikTok and artists putting out songs and snippets. Many may still want to release a string of singles before an album. There is nothing wrong with that. I feel that this reliance and way of doing things will fade slightly. Artists maybe not seeing the benefit of releasing singles. Too few views or videos not being embraced the way they once were. Instead, we will get the element of surprise. Not knowing what Billie Eilish’s album will sound like. I think it will result in more album sales and streams that otherwise would have been the case because people have that curiosity and blank canvas. Rather than it being a marketing ploy or anything cynical, these amazing young artists realise how important albums are. They do not want to take them apart or distil them. Albums have always been popular. The art of releasing an album with no singles and prioritising that has not been common with major artists. We will see others do this. Although not every one can or will do the same, there are positive steps towards artists eschewing releasing multiple singles and only doing one or two – or none at all! It is pleasing and exciting discovering artists such as Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift not releasing singles and instead putting out an album. It means that fans get…
A fulsome and dedicated listen.